Surgical splint



Nov. 1, 1960 J. M. CLAYDON ET Al. 2,958,325

SURGICAL SPLINT Fi-led Oct. 10, 1956 INVENTORS. JOHN M. CLAYDON BY ERNEST B2: MAN

ATTORNEY United States Patent SURGICAL SPLINT John M. Claydon, Trumbull, Conn., and Ernest Bettman, WhitePlains, N.Y., assignors to Connecticut Bandage 1Vlills, 'Inc., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Oct. 10, 1956, Ser. No. 615,045

12 Claims. (Cl. 128-90) This invention relates to improvements in surgical splints capable of use on various parts of the body for immobilization and includes sheet material from which such splints may be formed.

An object of the invention is to provide surgical splints which are bendable or moldable to conform with the curvature of the body member to which they are applied and form retaining so as to remain in desired position for healing of such member.

Another object of the invention is to provide bendable form-retaining splints which include as a part thereof a layer of absorbent foam rubber or equivalent cushion or bandage material.

A further object is to provide bendable form-retaining splints of the above character having scored or equivalent weakened areas to facilitate bending or molding thereof into the curvature or configuration desired to fit any anatomical situation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide laminated sheet material which may be readily cut whereby to form surgical or fracture splints of the above character of any desired size or shape.

Among other objects and advantages, the splints of the present invention are adapted to be applied to any portion of the body with a minimum of effort; are capable of being molded to apply emphasized pressure at any particular portion of the body member to which they are applied; are light in weight; are X-ray penetrable; and may be easily removed and reapplied such as when suture removal or inspection is necessary.

Still other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the principles of the invention has been selected for exemplification.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an outer plan view of a surgical splint or surgical splint sheet material constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the splint of Figs. 1-3 shown bent in a form suitable for application to a human forearm such as in the treatment of Colles fracture.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, the s lint or splint sheet material indicated in its entirety at includes an outer layer 12 of bendable or moldable form-retaining material which in a preferred form of the invention may be sheet aluminum or like material. To facilitate bending or molding of such outer layer 12 to a body member, weakened areas such as a series of scored lines 14 are formed along its length preferably at the outer face thereof. Although such scored lines 14 are shown as parallel and eoui-spaced as is preferred for general purposes, the invention con- 2,958,325 Patented Nov. 1, 1960 templates that such scored lines 14 or equivalent weakened areas may be formed or disposed in any other manner more desirable for specific applications of the splint. In many cases, the elongated score lines 14 only are sufficient to provide the bendable or moldable characteristics necessary for application of the splint to an arm or leg for example. However, in some cases it is advantageous to provide other weakened areas such as the series of transverse scored lines 16 running substantially the width of the sheet 12. Just as the scored lines 14, the lines 16 are preferably but may not necessarily be parallel and equi-spaced as shown.

The inner layer 18 may be of any suitable cushion or bandage material but in the form of the invention found most efiicient the inner layer 18 consists of absorbent foam rubber Such foam rubber possesses the further important advantages of compressing and retracting so as to stabilize the splint and is capable of self-adjustment when the usual swelling of the body member subsides. As shown, the inner layer 18 is preferably coextensive with the inner surface area of the outer layer 12 and is bonded or otherwise suitably secured thereto either directly or through the medium of an interposed backing layer which may be a separate member or the elastic surface skin on the contacting face of the foam rubber sheet 18.

As will be apparent from Fig. 4, which illustrates the split in general form for application to a Colles fracture, the splints of the present invention are readily capable of being bent or molded in a wide range of form-retaining curvatures or forms to fit practically all anatomical situations and that the degree of pressure exerted by the splints on any particular part of the body member may be readily varied as desired.

It is to be understood that the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described are merely representative of the principles of the present invention which embrace all such modifications thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A surgical splint comprising, an outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet material, the said outer layer being provided with scored areas to facilitate bending thereof, and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber secured to said outer layer.

2. A surgical splint comprising, an outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet material, the said outer layer being provided with substantially parallel scored areas to facilitate bending thereof, and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber secured to said outer layer.

3. A surgical splint comprising, an outer layer of bendable form-retaining material, the said outer layer being provided with substantially transversely disposed scored areas to facilitate bending thereof and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber secured to said outer layer.

4. A surgical splint comprising, an outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet material, the said outer layer being provided with substantially transversely extending series of scored lines, the lines of each series being substantially parallel, and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber secured to said outer layer.

5. A surgical splint comprising, an elongated outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet material and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber substantially coextensive with said outer layer and secured thereto, the said outer layer being provided with scored areas extending substantially its length.

6. A surgical splint comprising, an elongated outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet material and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber substantially coextensive with said outer layer and secured thereto, the said outer layer being provided with scored areas extending substantially its width.

7. A surgical splint comprising, an outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet aluminum, the said outer layer being provided with scored areas to facilitate bending thereof, and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber bonded to said outer layer.

8. A surgical splint comprising, an outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet aluminum, the said outer layer being provided with substantially parallel scored areas to facilitate bending thereof, and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber bonded to said outer layer.

9. A surgical splint comprising, an outer layer of bendable form-retaining aluminum, the said outer layer being provided with substantially transversely disposed scored areas to facilitate bending thereof and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber bonded to said outer layer.

10. A surgical splint comprising, an outer layer of ben dable form-retaining sheet aluminum, the said outer layer being provided with substantially transversely extending series of scored lines, the lines of each series being substantially parallel, and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber bonded to said outer layer.

11. A surgical splint comprising, an elongated outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet aluminum and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber substantially coextensive with said outer layer and bonded thereto, the said outer layer being provided with scored areas extending substantially its length.

12. A surgical splint comprising, an elongated outer layer of bendable form-retaining sheet aluminum and an inner layer of absorbent foam rubber substantially coextensive with said outer layer and bonded thereto, the said outer layer being provided with scored areas extending substantially its width.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 392,157 Lee Oct. 30, 1888 896,674 Walker Aug. 18, 1908 1,837,691 Thigpen Dec. 22, 193-1 1,992,904 Preston Feb. 26, 1935 2,217,821 Shiner Oct. 15, 1940 2,506,464 Millheisler May 2, 1950 2,573,715 Kelly Nov. 6, 1951 2,759,475 Van Swaay Aug. 21, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 436,109 Great Britain Oct. 4, 1935 

1. A SURGICAL SPLINT COMPRISING, AN OUTER LAYER OF BENDABLE FORM-RETAINING SHEET MATERIAL, THE SAID OUTER LAYER BEING PROVIDED WITH SCORED AREAS TO FACILITATE BENDING THEREOF, AND AN INNER LAYER OF ABSORBENT FOAM RUBBER SE- 